Discussion:
About Tritium !
(too old to reply)
c***@optonline.net
2019-02-02 21:15:13 UTC
Permalink
Hydrogen 3 gas used extensively in contemporary luminious watch
numerals and / or hand indicators, as gas filled tubes with phosphor
coatings. Usually a total of 25 or 100 mc quantities.

When Tritium ( Hydrogen 3 ) decays to Helium 3 it emits an electron
with energy 18,591 electron volts, which puts it on a par with
electrons in an old B&W TV picture tube, very harmless and not very
likely to escape the watch.

Radium as in luminous paints is totally different and nefarious. It
emits a far more energetic alpha and decays to Radon gas, a big
carcinogen. I don't believe Radium is used anywhere today.

Tritium half life is 12.32 years which translates into a decay
constant R = .056262 , so tritium intensity falls off according to
intensity = starting intensity x e ^ - ( R x years ) .
c***@optonline.net
2019-02-04 18:54:13 UTC
Permalink
For any currious, even a lowly 25 mc watch,
has no less than 925 million tritium decays / second !
c***@optonline.net
2019-02-04 19:44:01 UTC
Permalink
Interestingly, the power is 2.76 micro watts .

c***@optonline.net
2019-02-04 19:31:11 UTC
Permalink
( curious )
Loading...